Listener Appreciation Week: The Toilet That Sank a German U-Boat

How a Toilet Sank a German U-Boat 

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Rich: The history of warfare is packed with examples of daring and bravery, loss and grief and bizarre circumstances. 

The war machine is made up of many pieces, all working together in unity with each piece performing a specific job. When one piece fails, the whole machine can crumble. Such was the case with German U-Boat 1206, the German Blitzkrieg storm through the Netherlands in May of 1940 on its path to occupying most of Europe during World War ii. 

At that time, Dutch submarines, O 25, 0 26 and O 27 fell into the hands of the Kriegsmarine, the German Navy. These Dutch vessels included an experimental device to allow clean air to flow into the sub while allowing diesel fumes to flow out. This system allowed the submarines to stay submerged [00:01:00] longer while using their periscope for lengthy periods of time. 

In 1941, the captured vessels were commissioned into the Kriegsmarine as UD three UD four and UD five. However, the Germans did not find the experimental devices to be very useful and had them removed. Incidentally, several Dutch submarines escaped the Germans and fled to England where the Royal Navy took ownership of them and they too removed the experimental devices. 

Fast forward to 1943. Renamed by the Germans to the snorkel. The device was installed into the type two C U-boat 58 and was tested during the summer of 1943. In 1944. The Kriegsmarine retrofitted type seven C and nine C U-boats, and built new type 11 and type 13 U-boats with the snorkel included, but problems arose. 

Vessels equipped with the snorkel were forced to [00:02:00] operate no faster than six knots. Otherwise, the device's air mass would break off. The air vent also tended to close up, forcing the vessel to surface to release the dangerous gases from the diesel engine. The U-Boats Hydrophone array. A submarine's listening device was also rendered useless as the noise from the diesel engine produced interference preventing any meaningful observations. 

An obstacle to overcome on any submarine is the elimination of waste from the vessel while submerged. This includes awkwardly human waste from the toilets. Allied submarines of the time stored waste inside onboard septic tanks and would discharge the tanks overboard when at a safe distance from shore. 

But this took up space, added more weight, and could produce undesirable odors. The Germans instead jettison the waste into the sea, but this could only be done while close to the surface where the exterior pressure was much lower. But surfacing or even being near the [00:03:00] surface became extremely dangerous. 

By 1945, as submarine detection technology had advanced resulting in heavy U-boat losses for the Kriegsmarine. In response, German engineers developed a high pressure deep water system to release waste from the toilets. This complex system included a series of valves to be operated in a very specific order. 

Waste was channeled through a number of airlocks before being launched into the sea with a blast of high pressure compressed air. Much like traditional torpedoes. The procedure was so complicated that special technicians were trained to operate the system whenever the toilet was used. If the valves were not opened and closed in the proper order, waste and seawater could flood the hall causing imminent and extreme danger. 

U-boat 1206 was a type seven C U-boat commissioned in March of 1944 and later retrofitted with the snorkel. On April 14th, 1945, the vessel was on its first ever combat patrol after its training [00:04:00] missions under the command of 27-year-old Capitan Lieutenant Karl Adolf Schlitt, while submerged 200 feet beneath the surface of the North Sea, Schlitt had the need to use the new Wonder toilet. 

Being the commander, he did not wish to call for a lowly technician to operate the toilet, believing he could do it himself. After conducting his business, Schlitt became confused by the complex machine and not being trained on its use. Was forced to call for the technician. Ironically, the technician was not fully trained either, and he was mostly unfamiliar with the working of the new deep water toilet. 

He opened the valves in the incorrect order, causing a surge of seawater to rush into the hall through an open valve. The vessels batteries located directly beneath the toilet were swamped with seawater. In case you don't recall your high school level chemistry, when salt water interacts with the acid, electrolytes inside of a battery electrolysis occurs, and the reaction produces lethal chlorine gas [00:05:00] within a submerged U-boat. 

This is a terribly dangerous and critical situation. The only option for a submarine in this case is to surface open the hatches and release the deadly gas. Schlitt did exactly this and ordered the vessels ballast and torpedoes to be jettisoned. U 1206 quickly surfaced while the chlorine gas was vented. 

He found a new danger. He had surfaced directly below a Royal Air Force patrol squadron. The planes bombed the vessel causing significant damage. Schlitt ordered the destruction of secret equipment on board before scuttling the vessel and its crew abandoned her in four inflatable rafts. Two. Royal Navy trawlers spotted U 1206 during its final moments as it rolled over and sank the trawler, Nodzu picked up 23 of the German crewmen from two of the rafts and turned them into authorities at Aberdeen. 

14. More from a third raft were rescued by the fishing vessel Reaper out of Peterhead. The [00:06:00] remaining raft made it to the Scottish shore near Boddam. Three had already drowned in the rough seas, but six men made it ashore. They scaled the steep rocky cliff before being spotted by locals and apprehended by members of the Home Guard. 

Schlitt was taken to Peterhead where he surrendered his sidearm. Less than a month later, the war in Europe ended with the surrender of Germany on May 7th, 1945. The wreck of the U 1206 was discovered in 1970. During pipeline work by British Petroleum, bp tracked down Carl Adolf Schlitt and brought him to Scotland where he was reunited with the crew of the Reaper that rescued him. 

Schlitt presented them with a plaque, thanking them for saving his life and commemorating the reunion. The wreck of the U 1206 was rediscovered by divers in 2012, who positively identified it as the U 1206. It remains in relatively good condition. 12 miles off the coast of Aberdeen, Scotland under 86 meters of water, it [00:07:00] rests on a flat sandy bottom with a 45 degree list to port the vessels, periscope, and anti-aircraft. 

Guns have been torn away by a t trawling net, but lie nearby, just off the port side, entangled in the net, the snorkel device remains visible and intact. Long after the end of the war, the son of a former crew member and survivor of the U 1206 claimed that Schlitt and the other officers caused the leak purposely to scuttle the ship and surrender to the allies. 

This was reportedly told to the man's father directly by Schlitt himself, Kapitan- Lieutenant Karl Adolf Schlitt outlived all other crew members of the U 1206 and died in 2009 at the age of 90. Another submarine story you may enjoy is that of the German submarine U 53 under Commander Hans Rose U 53 made a historic surprise visit to Newport, Rhode Island in 1916 when the United States was still neutral.[00:08:00]  

They greeted a curious public and welcomed US Navy personnel on board and U 53 went on to sink 78 ships between 1916 and 1918. You can hear the whole story of the U 53 and Hans Rose in episode 13 of Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs. 

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